How does Iran go about selecting a new supreme leader? And who is in the running?

Media reports have cast the son of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a top candidate for supreme leader. A scholar of Iranian politics explains how the succession process has never been free or fair.

By: Eric Lob, Florida International University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 5, 2026

Words: 1,617

Last Updated: 4 days, 14 hours ago

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By Eric Lob, Florida International University

The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, 2026, set off the process of selecting a new supreme leader. It is only the second such transition in the Islamic Republic’s 47-year history and the first since the ailing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini transferred power to Khamenei in June 1989.

As stipulated in Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, a three-person Interim Leadership Council was created on March …

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